Desert Discovery Center
Managed by Bureau of Land Management
15 acres0.4 mi of trail
Desert Discovery Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Desert Discover Center/ Cora M. Fitness CenterWebsite ↗
Photo: Amin Eshaiker · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Barstow
Barstow has 62 miles of mapped trails, 1.5 for every square mile of land
108 acres are parks and preserves, 4.3 per 1,000 residents. 68% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #575 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
127 acres · of 41.3 sq mi of land
Trails
62 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
108 ac
4.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 0.5 mi paths
Highest peak
2,415 ft
B Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Barstow?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Barstow have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Barstow is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #575 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Barstow’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (62 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land4.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (108 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks close to home68% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 46%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 32%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Desert Discovery Center, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Foglesong Park
Managed by City of Barstow
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Stringham Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Desert Discovery Center15 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Bureau of Land Management
DirectionsBarstow Memorial Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsFoglesong Park10 acres · City of Barstow
DirectionsH Street Soccer Fields8 acres
DirectionsStringham Park7 acres
Dana Park6 acres
DirectionsLillian Park4 acres
DirectionsSturnacle Park2 acres
Waterman Park1 acres
Who protects it
127 conserved acres
under 1% of Barstow’s land. Who manages Barstow’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency58 ac
State Department of Land40 ac
Town or city29 ac
Local Recreation Area · 64 acState Resource Management Area · 40 acLocal Park · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| California State Lands Commission State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 40 | Open |
| Robert A. Sessions Memorial Sports Park Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 38 | Open |
| Sturnacle Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| H Avenue Soccer Fields Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Foglesong Park/Eda Henderson Pool Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Dana Park Community Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Donald A. Stringham Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Lillian Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Rotary Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Barstow
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Barstow
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Barstow
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Barstow
B Hill2,415 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.4 mi
Salamander Boulevard2.0 mi
MM71791.2 mi
Veterans Parkway0.5 mi
Desert Discovery Path0.4 mi
Avenue J0.3 mi
Avenue I0.3 mi
Viejo Court0.2 mi
Poppy Court0.1 mi
Blossom Court0.1 mi
Sunflower Court0.1 mi
1 more trails
High Point Parkway
0.1 miBiking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Tennis
8Baseball
8Basketball
2Soccer
2Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Harvey House Railroad DepotBuilding · listed 1975
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Barstow: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 63 | 69 | 76 | 85 | 95 | 101 | 100 | 93 | 80 | 68 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 101 °F). 1.0 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 101 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Barstow →
Next door
Barstow and its neighbors
Barstow has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barstow | under 1% | 1.5 | 4 | 68% | B− |
| Lenwood | 3% | 1.2 | 3 | 86% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Barstow
Where can I hike in Barstow?
The longest trail networks: Desert Discovery Center, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Barstow is conserved land?
under 1% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Barstow’s trails?
Desert Discovery Center and Foglesong Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Barstow?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Barstow?
69,189 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Barstow or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,619 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Barstow have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #575 of 847 in California. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Barstow neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →